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American electric carmaker Tesla is looking to enter India this year and may start selling electric vehicles as soon as April, according to a report by CNBC-TV18.As per the report, Tesla plans to sell imported vehicles from its Berlin plant in India starting in April this year. The channel claimed that the EV maker is planning to offer cheaper EV models priced around USD 25,000 (approximately ?21 lakh).Furthermore, the channel reported that Tesla intends to begin sales operations in India in the first phase.Quoting sources, CNBC-TV18 further claimed that the EV maker has shortlisted BKC and AeroCity Mumbai as potential locations to launch its sales in India.Tesla has opened recruitments for various roles in India, including business operations analyst and customer support specialist. As per the job postings on the company's website, the posts are for the 'Mumbai Suburban' area.These roles include service advisor, parts advisor, service technician, service manager, sales & customer support, store manager, sales & customer support, business operations analyst, customer support supervisor, customer support specialist, delivery operations specialist, order operations specialist, inside sales advisor, and consumer engagement manager.The hiring by Tesla in India comes close after the recent meeting of company founder and American tech billionaire Elon Musk with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter's recent US visit.Last April, company founder and American tech billionaire Elon Musk had postponed his proposed visit to India at the last minute citing "very heavy Tesla obligations" but the proposed visit had raised expectations of Musk announcing plans for the way forward for selling Tesla electric cars in India at the earliest.His planned visit to India came weeks after the government announced a new electric vehicle policy under which import duty concessions will be given to companies setting up manufacturing units in the country with a minimum investment of USD 500 million, a move aimed at attracting major global players like Tesla.An advisor representing Tesla -- The Asia Group (TAG) had even attended a stakeholders' meeting on the new EV policy along with those from Vietnam's EV maker VinFast and all the major manufacturers in India, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata, Mahindra, Kia, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.Musk had said in 2022 that Tesla, which was earlier seeking a reduction in import duties to sell its vehicles in India, would not manufacture its products unless it is allowed to first sell and service its cars in the country.In August 2021, Musk had said that Tesla may set up a manufacturing unit in India if it first succeeds with imported vehicles in the country. He had said Tesla wanted to launch its vehicles in India "but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!"At present, cars imported as completely built units (CBUs) attract customs duty ranging from 70 per cent to 100 per cent, depending on the engine size and cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value.

Mumbai: Citi said Indian equities appear 'relatively well placed' after the recent declines. It has set a Nifty price target of 26,000 by December, implying an upside of 13.3% over Tuesday's close. The brokerage said the estimated Price to Earnings ratio - a popular valuation measure - at 19 times is near its five-year average, while foreign investors are most underweight in 15 years. HDFC Bank, Kotak, Maruti, Endurance, HDFC Life and Torrent Pharma are among its top picks."With a pickup in central govt. capex in the past few months, budgetary support to consumption and the start of rate cuts, growth should pick up, but the impact of reciprocal tariffs from the US will be something to watch out for in select sectors," said Citi.

Mumbai: JP Morgan has set a target of 26,500 on the Nifty by December, and has an 'overweight' rating on financials, consumer staples, consumer discretionary, healthcare and real estate sectors. The target implies an upside of 15.5% over the index's Tuesday closing of 22,945.Some of its top picks include Devyani International, Sapphire Foods, Westlife Development, Varun Beverages, Zomato, M&M, TVS Motor, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC AMC, KFin Technologies, LIC Housing Finance, Shriram Finance, SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Lombard General, Mankind Pharma, Max Healthcare, Rainbow Children's Medicare, Fortis Healthcare, DLF, Godrej Properties and Oberoi Realty.118371039The brokerage warns of further corporate earnings downgrades."Despite recent earnings downgrades, consensus expectations for CY25/26 earnings are still elevated and ripe for further downgrades; specifically in Energy, Materials, Industrials and passenger vehicle plays," it said. Its most optimistic target on the Nifty is 30,000 and the least one is 21,000.